By the numbers: Valentin Vacherot defeats Novak Djokovic in Shanghai
What's the story
Valentin Vacherot's dream run at the Shanghai Masters is not over yet. The Monegasque qualifier beat record four-time champion Novak Djokovic to reach the finale. The No. 204 player in the ATP Rankings prevailed 6-3, 6-4 against Djokovic. With this win, he became the lowest-ranked finalist in ATP Masters 1000 history (since 1990). Here we present the key numbers associated.
Rankings
Rankings surge and records made
Vacherot, who earlier ensured a place in Top 100 for the first time by defeating Holger Rune, has now risen 146 spots (ATP Live Rankings). As per ATP, he is the sixth player this century to reach his first ATP Tour final at a Masters 1000 event. He is also the first to accomplish the feat since Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Opta stats
Crunch records made by Vacherot
Vacherot became the first Monegasque player to reach an ATP-level final in the Open Era. Since the format's introduction in 1990, Vacherot ranked 204 is now the lowest-ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final after Andrei Pavel, who was ranked 191st. Vacherot became the lowest-ranked opponent Djokovic has faced in an ATP-level semi-final, surpassing Joachim Johansson (193) in Adelaide in 2007.
Journey
Journey to the final
Vacherot beat Nishesh Basavareddy in his first qualifying match. Liam Draxl was taken down next (Qualifiers). In the main round, Vacherot overcame Laslo Djere in R128. In R64, he beat 14th seed Alexander Bublik in three sets. In R32, Tomas Machac was taken down. The 20th seed retired midway. 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor, 10th seed Rune and 4th seed Djokovic were tamed next.